NMPF Statement Opposing Goodlatte-Scott Farm Bill Amendment

NMPF Statement Opposing Goodlatte-Scott Farm Bill Amendment

“The nation’s dairy farmers strongly oppose efforts in the House to gut the farm bill’s dairy title through an amendment offered by Reps. Goodlatte and Scott. We urge members of the House to reject this amendment, which would undo four years of hard work to develop a new, cost-effective safety net for America’s dairy farmers.

“We understand that the House leadership is pressuring members to vote in favor of the Goodlatte-Scott amendment. But if the debate on the farm bill’s dairy title is about what the best policy is for taxpayers and consumers, as well as farmers, then we have the best case to make to Congress.

“The Dairy Security Act, already approved twice by the House Agriculture Committee, and contained in the Senate-passed farm bill, creates a voluntary margin insurance program. The costs for this are shared by farmers and mitigated by the program’s market stabilization element. By eliminating the market stabilization component, the Goodlatte-Scott approach removes the cost control mechanism from this measure, greatly increasing government and taxpayer costs.

“The Dairy Security Act is more in tune with where Congress wants to go with farm policy, in terms of limiting taxpayer costs and minimizing any impact on consumers. In fact, it is dairy farmers who are urging Congress to eliminate three existing farm programs. It’s dairy farmers who have expressed genuine interest in limiting the costs of farm programs, unlike processors, who have no real stake in limiting government costs, and stand to benefit by creating a surplus of milk that puts farm families out of business.

“Congress needs to side with farmers and their families, not corporate processors, in the debate about the future of farm policy.”